It was too small for software giant Atlassian, but the Australian stockmarket has become an unlikely target for US technology companies looking for an alternative to the Nasdaq.

While co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar listed their company for a $8 billion in the United States, American fund managers say Atlassian's success helped educate Australian investors about the fast-growing tech sector. At the time, the US offered Atlassian a wider and more-sophisticated pool of technology investors that Australia could. But the local market has worked for smaller companies like WiseTech which listed for $1 billion last year.

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) boasted last week it had more new listings than any other global exchanges in 2016 with 133 new listings compared with 42 on the Nasdaq. Forty new technology companies listed on the ASX in the year ended June 30.

Jeff Stewart, the co-founder of the Global Public Offering Fund says the US initial public offer market is dead and there are hundreds of start-ups eyeing exchanges in Australia and other parts of Asia to fund their growth.

Stewart, who is in Australia at the moment looking at opportunities for US funds, says it is almost impossible for a tech company to get a float worth less than $US3 billion ($3.8 billion) or $US4 billion under way in the United States. This means companies like Cisco, Oracle and even Amazon would not exist if they had tried to get a float away in their infancy in the current market.

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His so-called GPO Fund is investing in companies worth between $US100 million and $US200 million with a view to listing them on the ASX and other exchanges in the region including Hong Kong and Singapore.

Stewart has some staggering data he uses to back up his commentary on the state of the US market. In 2016, there were only 18 US companies that raised less than $US50 million on the stockmarket compared with 557 in 1996. Part of the problem is that companies trying to go public in the US are prone to litigation and enormous expense. Floats are fewer but larger because by the time the company reaches a stage it can afford to list, it is mature. A lot of US tech companies are also finding capital privately through venture capital funds. This includes Airbnb, which has raised billions of dollars privately rather than floating.

This creates a huge opportunity for Australia's financial services sector but it is competing with deal-hungry exchanges throughout the region for business.

Stewart says the GPO Fund has identified about 1000 American companies as potential IPO candidates. The criteria is they must have proven technology, a proven business model, be profitable and have more than $US100 million in revenue, The idea is the fund invests in the US companies and then takes them public on exchanges in the Asia-Pacific. The initial investments are not financed through traditional channels but through a virtual currency called an initial coin offering (ICO).

Stewart says the ASX is particularly attractive because Australia is well regulated and the local market is already global, which is the main attraction for tech companies. About 45 per cent of the exchange's trading volume and capital each days comes from outside of Australia. They want global exposure to investors rather than being limited to investors from a single market.

Stewart says Atlassian has also helped educate the Australian market about investing in technology companies even though it did not list here. "People get real smart real fast," he says when asked about the level of awareness Australian investors have in technology firms.

"You don't have a deep pool of venture capital means the research has become more sophisticated. The public markets have filled some of that void. We were pleased with the level of interest and sophistication in relation to some of these software and services models."

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission last week issued guidance on initial coin offerings for the first time, warning investors should be wary of the risks by what is an anonymous method of raising funds. China banned ICOs earlier this month. The use of ICOs, which use blockchain-based technology, is booming globally and Stewart says the model gives investors more liquidity and transparency than they would have with venture capital or private equity.